How are devices within a network that does not respond to SNMP or WMI, discovered...

Network Discovery in the SolarWinds Platform is designed to identify as much infrastructure as possible, even if that infrastructure is "locked down." According to theSolarWinds Platform Administrator Guide, the discovery wizard follows a specific hierarchy of identification.

If a device hasSNMPorWMIdisabled (often the case for security-hardened servers, basic switches, or simple IP-enabled appliances), the platform cannot gather deep performance metrics like CPU or memory. However, the device can still be discovered and monitored for "Up/Down" availability using a simple Ping (ICMP). To ensure these devices are added to the database during a scan, the administrator must check the box to "Include devices that only respond to ICMP" during the discovery configuration. If this is not selected, the discovery engine will skip any IP address that does not provide a valid SNMP or WMI credential response, potentially leaving gaps in the network inventory. This is the standard method for monitoring "Ping-only" nodes.